Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

Defeat

"Naruto?"

The Konoha ninja said nothing as he approached the two remaining members of the team sent to the Sound base. It was only a worn down Lee and Tayuya that stood before him, both clearly affected by what had happened.

Lee's face held terror, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. Tayuya, despite not being close or acquainted with their fallen comrades, was very visually shaken.

"We'll get their bodies and take them back home," Naruto spoke, knowing that he had to be strong now. "Lee... stay here and keep a look out, we'll be back shortly." With that the blond turned to leave, "Let's go Tayuya."

The former Sound ninja didn't have time to respond as Naruto was already off. Despite being a bit taken off-guard by his sudden leave, she followed after him though not before throwing Lee a glance. Even if she did not know him well she could relate to him. The look on his face was one she was sure she had years ago, back when her training first began. Only the strong survived the various tests of power Orochimaru gave them.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it. Her current predicament was horrible enough.

He couldn't do anything...

Not when he watched his teammate crushed by a giant fist. And not when the unconscious Kiba was crushed to death...

Lee's body had been on autopilot after that. He had fought the monster as unwanted thoughts invaded his mind. To no surprise, he only managed to dodge a few punches and try to counterattack. It didn't take him long to realize that the monster would kill him if the fight continued.

Luckily Naruto had arrived at the scene soon after.

"Why?" Hands balled into fists as tears cascaded down Lee's face. He had been sure that the mission was over but then everything went horribly wrong.

Neji had been his rival. He had been so strong. A prodigy! Someone who he could not surpass even with years of training.

When they first met Lee wanted to prove that hard work could defeat a genius. That's why for a long time his days ranged from training his butt off to going on missions. This began to change when his team began to go out just to pass the time. It was then that he noticed that, despite having been put off by the Hyuuga's attitude in the beginning, some sort of bond was growing between them.

Soon they became friends though it did not mean he stopped his pursuit of defeating him one day. But Neji was invincible and won every single challenge thrown at him without much effort. It was like he could never be defeated.

But...

Neji was dead.

In the end their training served no purpose. A prodigy and a hard worker were both just as likely to die in a matter of seconds. Their training, struggles, bonds, and experiences did not matter when their opponent was a monster.

The abrupt end of his friend's life had broken him but what happened afterward destroyed the vision he had of himself.

Lee's lips quivered, his emotions getting the best of him.

Back when they were running from the monster after it had killed Neji, Lee had been scared. If a monster like that could kill Neji then it would kill him too. His blood had ran cold when the monster began to chase after them, he was sure that he would die but...it turned its attention to the clone carrying the unconscious Kiba.

In that moment Lee had been relieved.

He had not died. Someone else did. It made him happy. He was lucky and would continue to live.